One Hundred Artists For World Aids Day

100 artists including myself, took part in this event to raise much needed funds for The Sussex Beacon. A diverse group of artists and performers contributed to this project held at Concorde 2 in Brighton.

Commencing at 4pm on a cold, wet December Sunday evening, undeterred by the appalling weather, the event was very well attended by people eager to give their support. 20% of all art sales were donated to the Sussex Beacon, a care centre for people living with HIV and Aids related illnesses. Live stage performers and DJ’s provided the entertainment.

Dolly Rocket – Event Hostess       Sam Chara – Singer

Talk by Miss Aniela

         

Last Tuesday, I went to a talk by Miss Aniela at the Brighton and Hove camera club. I had recently discovered her Flickr site and was impressed and intrigued by her work. She states on her blog that she wanted to keep things ’snappy’ and avoid people falling asleep during a long presentation. Well, I don’t think there was ever any danger of that!

She is as impressive a speaker as she is photographer, articulate, fascinating and sparky. Her talk was divided into two main parts, the first showing her work from the beginning – not that long ago, she is only 23! – to the present: in the second half she revealed the techniques she used to achieve surreal images such as the ones below.

  

I’m always impressed when someone is willing and generous enough to share technical knowledge and explain in detail how certain effects are achieved. It’s one thing to see inspiring images but it’s much more interesting to know how you could go about making a similar image or be able to apply that knowledge to some project of your own.

  

The consensus was that she was the best speaker the club had had for a long time.

You can visit her Flickr site by clicking here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ndybisz/

Using Colorburst RIP Software and BasICColor Display

Have you wasted more time than you care to think about trying to get the colours of your prints to match the image as it appears on your computer screen, throwing numerous disappointing prints in the bin wasting expensive inks and papers as I have? I’ve spent frustrating hours tweaking levels in Photoshop trying to get the optimum settings for each and every print, cranking up my stress levels. There is a lot of info out there about colour management and profiling but a lot of it is generic and can be confusing and misleading.

By a great stoke of luck, I came across Neil Barstow when searching for Innova photo paper on the Net and after talking to him for a few minutes it became evident that I had more than a few problems that needed sorting out. One of those was that my screen was too bright even though it was on the dimmest setting possible.As he lives close by, Neil came round to my studio and to my relief, started to explain very technical things in a language that was at my level of understanding. It was immediately clear that this guy really knows his stuff – I was about to be rescued!

I was so impressed by the difference in the appearance of my screen after Neil calibrated it, that I came to the conclusion that spending money on the Colorburst RIP and the BasICColor Display calibration software would be well worth it. Neil patiently took me ( and my iMac ) through the various settings I would need to use which saved me a great deal of time reading through instruction manuals.

I can now spend more time being creative rather than on producing countless test prints as I know that the image I see on the screen will match what comes out of my Epson 3800 printer. I no longer have to pay to have custom ICC profiles ( sometimes not good enough ) made for each new paper I use. I can be confident that my prints will be the best they could be and I need to be sure of producing consistently professional quality prints for my customers.

Click here to view Neil’s website

Outdoor Photography Magazine’s ‘Reflections’ Competition October 2009

These images won the competitiion – no cash or prizes but gratifying anyway and a good piece of news to start the day with.

Window on the Palace Pier – 2

Canon 350D, 17-85mm EF-S 1:4-5.6 IS lens. ISO 400, 56mm, 1/25th sec at f/20

Window on the Palace Pier – 1

Canon 350D, 17-85mm EF-S 1:4-5.6 IS lens. ISO 200, 26mm, 1/100th sec at f/13

I like to photograph things as they are but make them look more abstract or surreal. I enjoy ambiguity and was interested in the multi-layering of space in the windows of the tattoo parlour and the take-away food bar on Brighton pier. With things stuck on the glass, people inside, reflections of the sea, people and the pier and a view of the beach through a doorway, I hope to engage the viewer in a visual game of interpretation.

Feature in EOS Magazine

Technique  Behind the image DIGITAL AND FILM

How was it shot?

Colleen’s kit

EOS 350D

EF 100mm f2.8 Macro lens

Various Extension tubes

Focusing rail

Captivated by the close up world of macro photography, Colleen Slater specialises in photographing flowers submerged underwater, creating colourful contemporary images.

1/160 sec at f4.5, ISO 100.

1/400 second at f3.5, ISO 100.

I WAS inspired to take these photos after seeing a panel of photographs that had been submitted to the Royal Photographic Society. I was already interested in macro photography and, after the frustrations of chasing insects around the garden, the idea of a set-up that I would have some control over appealed to me.  I find it totally absorbing peering at life anew through a macro lens and am fascinated by the other-worldly look of flowers submerged in water. I aim to convey this in abstract images that have something special in terms of colour and form.

I use an EOS 350D with an EF 100mm f2.8 Macro lens and various extension tubes, ranging from 13mm to 31mm, and a basic focusing rail.  I put the flowers in a small fish tank filled with water. I use £1 coins as weights to keep the flowers submerged, wrapping blue tack around the coins and the stem. I put the tank on a white sheet to reflect light onto the flower. I use coloured materials and gels (including sweet wrappers) on the top and sides of the tank to act as coloured filters, creating different colour effects as sunlight shines through them onto the petals. I work outdoors using bright sunshine to create light effects with real sparkle and brilliance. Oxygen bubbles form on the petals or get trapped between them, but they last a day or two at the most. To focus properly, the glass surface needs to be flat, not curved, and the lens needs to be parallel with the glass. The depth-of-field is very narrow – as little as a few millimetres – so I use manual focusing to control precisely which part of the image is sharp or soft. The use of differential focusing is key to achieving good compositions. I shoot at between f2.4 and f8 as using smaller apertures results in images that are over-complicated, with too many details in focus. Mirror lock-up and a remote switch help to stop camera shake and keep images sharp. A sturdy tripod is essential. Sometimes, I have to wait for things to stop moving after a gust of wind, but I can lessen the disturbance by covering the top of the tank with cling film, which also prevents odd bits of dust and small insects getting inside.  I constantly make small adjustments to the position of the camera, raising or lowering the height, adjusting the angle of view, turning the camera through different degrees from landscape to portrait, trying to achieve compositions that I’m happy with. I often find that when I have a reasonable composition, the colour is disappointing, or vice versa. I may move the flower around in the tank, change the position of the gels and rearrange the bubbles by pouring more water into the tank. I like experimenting with different flowers and have found that the least likely candidates, such as chrysanthemums, can provide the best results. I get the most pleasing results with pale- coloured flowers.  I’d like to get the whole of an air bubble and what is reflected in it in sharp focus, but that is not possible with such a narrow depth-of-field. I’m hoping to achieve the results I want by using a focusing rail to take a series of images with a slightly different focal point, then combine them using software such as Helicon Focus. •

Colleen’s set-up shows a flower submerged in a fish tank, with coloured gels to hand at the side.

For more of Colleen’s images visit: www.colleenslaterphotography.co.uk

The Brighton Beach Boys

 

The Brighton Beach Boys and the Psychedelic Love Orchestra performed the Beach Boys’ “Pet Sounds” and the Beatles’ “Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” at St. George’s Church in Kemp Town during the Brighton Festival in May. The award winning 15-piece band consists of musicians with a vast amount of talent. They recreate two of the most revered, iconic albums ever recorded with amazing six-part vocal harmonies and original instruments. They sound amazingly authentic and are breathtakingly brilliant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Taken With My 3mg Samsung Phone Camera

Three heads are better than one

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m pleased with these images of friends taken whilst drinking coffee in the Sanctuary last Sunday. I haven’t bothered much with using my my phone camera but it’s useful for a quick grab shot or two.

 

Sue's having trouble seeing through these

Bhav admiring her specs.

Compatibility Problems with the Canon 5D Mark II

 

I’ve been waiting a long time for the Canon 5D Mark II. A couple of years ago I decided to wait for an upgrade from the first camera in the 5D series reasoning that as they were taking a long time to produce one, they would eventually produce something special. When the Mark II was at last announced in September 2008 and I read the specs, I was glad I’d waited. It was released in November but I waited again hoping for the price to drop. Finally, I ordered the camera from Misco on the 24th of January and it arrived last Friday after having been on order for 6 weeks.

My initial delight quickly faded when I discovered that the RAW files could only be processed using the inadequate Digital Photo Professional software that comes with the camera and that I would need to upgrade to Lightroom 2 and/or Photoshop CS4 as Lightroom 1 did not recognise the CR2 files. Having spent a small fortune on equipment, materials, software, entry fees etc. recently, it was disappointing to be faced with yet more financial outlay. Instead of going out with my new toy, it sat rather dejectedly on the shelf while I wondered what to do. 

I tried a few things until I found a solution. I downloaded Adobe’s DNG converter which is free. I imported the RAW files by copying them from the flash card to my computer. Then I converted the copied files to DNG which I usually do anyway but within Lightroom. I found I could then import the DNG files into Lightroom I and into Photoshop CS3. It’s a bit more awkward that importing straight from the flashcard but hey…it works!

Snowy Brighton

Here are some of the images I took of Brighton at play in the snow yesterday. Needing little excuse to go out and have fun, many people had the day off from work as the transport networks, true to form at the sign of the white stuff, collapsed. In the true spirit of Brighton, the city became a gigantic playground and the beach turned into an impromptu art gallery with snow sculptures on the empty plinths that were once part of the West Pier. 

A Bit More About Me

 One of my art college darkroom prints taken in Newport High Street c.1974

I first studied photography as a support subject as part of my Fine Art (painting) degree course in Newport, Wales. The Magnum photographer, David Hurn had just set up a documentary photography course. I think if digital imaging had been in existence then, I would have given up painting in favour of photography but I had little money to buy equipment and materials and it was not possible to work with colour in the darkroom. I enjoyed making my own prints, except the bit where you had to wind film onto a spool inside a black bag prior to it being developed. I wasn’t good at it and found it stressful as there was no margin for error so I usually got a technician to do it for me.

I haven’t painted since college, though I taught Art for five years at Mayfield College in East Sussex. I started taking photos seriously again after going on inspiring treks to Peru and in Vietnam earlier this decade. By the time I went to Tibet, I had a new camera – my first (new one) unbelievably.

The arrival of digital imaging has made photography accessible to me and to others who previously had no access to a darkroom. It’s cheaper (I think), even with all the computer crashes/ hassle etc. –  you have backed-up all your files at least twice haven’t you and given aunty Bessie a copy of your hardrive to store in case your house blows up? 

 It’s made possible a way of working which fits into the fast paced way we live in the 21st century. You can stop and start, re-work images with ease, create in ways that weren’t possible before and hugely speed up the workflow with endless opportunities to experiment and make changes. All this in the comfort of your home, (cheaper again) though I’ve lost count of all the burnt dinners I’ve had to throw away as I’ve been absorbed /lost in my digital world and neglected to turn off the oven.

I feel comfortable with photography in a way I didn’t with painting. It’s the ideal medium for me to be creative and explore my passion for colour and the effects of light. It suits my personality, sometimes gregarious, sometimes introverted. I can change my subject matter and way of working to suit my mood and easily switch to black and white when I think necessary. I’m particularly interested in macro, portrait and street photography but love taking photos of just about anything. 

I love “hunting” photos and seeking out images. Shooting seems a very apt word to describe the action. I suppose I’m addicted to that thrilling feeling you get when you’ve been trying hard to make something work – for hours, days, weeks. You’re getting tired but then the magic starts to happen – Ureka! You know when you’ve “caught your fish”. It really is the best feeling and probably what drives most of us to make the sacrifices we inevitably do ( forget the holiday, new clothes, tyres for the car – I need a new camera/tripod/computer!). Handbag? Mine’s a Kata.  

I am now working mainly as a fine art photographer but undertake various commissions; you can contact me through my website which is www.colleenslaterphotography.co.uk. I sell work at exhibitions, the ‘Cry of the Gulls’ gallery in Brighton and through the website.